1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a blade removal apparatus for removing a used blade from the handle of a surgical scalpel. More particularly the invention concerns a combination, spring loaded blade removing mechanism and safety shielded housing within which the blade drops for safe disposal.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Although the practice of medicine has progressed rapidly over the past century, the scalpel still remains the primary surgical tool. Operating rooms and emergency rooms in the U.S. alone use the scalpel over 50 million times each year. Many new products have been aimed at improving or replacing this tool; for example, disposable scalpels, electrocautery pencils and the like. However, the basic disposable blade attached to the reusable handle has continued to remain the standard.
Unfortunately, the risk of accidental cuts has been with the medical team as long as the scalpel. This risk is especially real to the operating or emergency room nurse who has to replace the "used" blade with a fresh one using either the fingers or a relatively clumsy forceps. The blade will frequently break and "fly" across the room, or much worse, the fingers will slip and the nurse suffers a nasty cut. Further, the onset of AIDS has justifiably expanded the medical team's concern over accidental cuts.
In accordance with standard practice, the prior art surgical scalpel includes a reusable, sterilizable handle having a tang on which the replaceable blade is mounted. The handle is typically subjected to repeatable uses. The blade, however, is always discarded at the end of a case, and, frequently, several blades are fitted on the same handle during the same procedure as they become dull or contaminated, or as a different style of blade is needed at different stages of the procedure. The interconnection between the blade and tang is usually such that the heel portion of the slotted blade must be deflected out of plane, that is away from the handle, when the blade is being assembled on, or disassembled from, the tang. The disassembly step can be difficult and dangerous, particularly when the scalpel is wet. After use, the blade is contaminated and is most hazardous to handle. Further, following complex surgery each blade must be accounted for. Accordingly a safe, systematic and reliable procedure must be adhered to during disassembly of the blade from the handle.
Several types and designs of devices have been proposed in the past in an effort to meet the stringent requirements for safe removal, accounting and disposal of used surgical blades, suturing needles and like articles. However, these devices have generally exhibited serious shortcomings. For example, the prior art devices are often quite complex, bulky and difficult to use. Many of the prior art surgical blade removal and storage units are extremely awkward to hold and manipulate and, therefore, themselves frequently contribute to injury during the blade removal step. Additionally, the blade storage portions of the devices are often poorly designed, so that the contaminated blades can accidentally fall from the device during transport. Finally, because of the complexity of the mechanism for deflecting the blade out of its plane in order to free it from the tang, many of the prior art devices are simply impractical to economically produce in the required quantities.
The apparatus of the present invention uniquely overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art blade removal and storage devices by providing a safety shielded apparatus having an easy to grip hourglass-shaped, disposable plastic housing which prevents accidental cuts during the blade insertion and removal process. The housing is provided with an internal, blade receiving channel which closely receives the blade and positively locates the tang portion of the handle within the housing. The blade stripping mechanism of the apparatus comprises an integrally formed, spring loaded lever arm disposed externally of the housing. Pressing the lever effortlessly deflects the heel of the blade away from the tang and over into a recessed stop, or pocket formed near the forward portion of the housing. Retraction of the handle with a straight line, continuous movement, while maintaining an inwardly directed force on the lever, smoothly strips the blade from the handle. The blade then falls by force of gravity through a narrow passageway into a storage compartment formed within the housing. In using the apparatus, no tilting or cumbersome manipulation of the scalpel is required. The user merely inserts the scalpel into an opening formed in the safety shield, presses the blade deflection lever and retracts the handle in a smooth straight line movement. The blade drops harmlessly into the clear plastic, hollow housing for later disposal. Integral ribs inside the plastic housing prevent accidental spillage of the contaminated blades for safety of handling and disposal.